Ninja Nonsense

Ninja Nonsense: The Legend of Shinobu
Cover of volume 1 of Ninja Nonsense, published by MediaWorks
ニニンがシノブ伝 (Ninin ga Shinobuden)
Genre	Comedy
Manga
Ninin Ga Shinobuden
Written by	Ryoichi Koga
Published by	MediaWorks
English publisher	Infinity Studios
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Dengeki Daioh
Original run	August 2000 – March 2006
Volumes	4
TV anime
Directed by	Hitoyuki Matsui
Studio	Ufotable
Licensed by	Nozomi Entertainment
Network	CBC
English network	Funimation Channel Anime Network (VOD) Anime Selects
Original run	July 8, 2004 – September 23, 2004
Episodes	12
Anime and Manga Portal

Ninja Nonsense: The Legend of Shinobu (ニニンがシノブ伝, Ninin ga Shinobuden^?) is Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ryoichi Koga. The series subtitle is "The Nonsense Kunoichi Fiction". The manga was serialized in MediaWorks' Dengeki Daioh magazine between August 2000 and March 2006; the chapters were later compiled into four tankōbon volumes. The manga was released in English in North America by Infinity Studios under the title Ninin Ga Shinobuden. A 12-episode anime adaptation produced by Ufotable aired in Japan between July and September 2004. The anime has been released in North America by The Right Stuf International under the title Ninja Nonsense: The Legend of Shinobu.

Ninja Nonsense is an absurdist comedy series which follows Shinobu as she trains to become a ninja. However, the series does not only focus on ninja training, but also focuses on Shinobu's lifestyle and friends through a series of disjointed comedic plot lines. The series uses character designs that favor a soft and rounded look rather than the slender bishōjo style. The original title of the series is based on a pun. In the Japanese numerical system, ni is two, and shi is four. Ni (2) x ni (2) = shi (4), therefore Ni-ni-n ga Shi-nobuden.

Plot

Ninja Nonsense is an absurdist comedy centering around Shinobu, a ninja apprentice, who is attempting to pass her ninja exams while Kaede, a normal schoolgirl, studies for her school exams. As a part of her exam, Shinobu is ordered to break into Kaede's room to steal her panties by her instructor, Onsokumaru. Shinobu, who despite her enthusiasm, possesses little if any actual ninja skills, believes herself to be invisible and 'sneaks' into Kaede's room. Since Shinobu is perfectly visible to Kaede, the mission does not go as planned. Despite all of this, Kaede takes pity on Shinobu and the two become close friends. Shinobu trains alongside other male ninjas identical in appearance, though one is known as Sasuke.

Characters

Shinobu (忍^?)

Voiced by: Nana Mizuki (Japanese), Emily Blau (English)

Shinobu is the main character. She is kind, hardworking, and dedicated, but naive and somewhat clumsy with complex tasks. She is usually charged with taking care of her dojo, because everyone else is too lazy. She usually wears a purple and pink ninja outfit, but sometimes wears other costumes. Her ambiguous relationship with Kaede, whom she describes as "more than a friend but less than a lover", ranges from admiration and idolization to romantic interest. Despite the influence of Onsokumaru, she remains fairly innocent.

Kaede Shiranui (不知火 楓, Shiranui Kaede^?)

Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese), Zoe Martin (English)

Kaede is a schoolgirl about Shinobu's age. She is the most sensible character of the series and thus usually the most put-upon. However, she does not allow herself to be tormented and usually puts annoying people in their place. She is often shown making remarks about how Onsokumaru and the male ninja are annoying.

Onsokumaru (音速丸^?)

Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto (Japanese), Sean Schemmel (English)

Onsokumaru is a shape-changing creature; his name roughly translates to "sonic speed ball". He is usually depicted as a round, yellow sphere with a face, variably with wings or arms, deep voice, and a loud temperament. Often, when getting emotional, he will transform into an extremely muscular full human body. In spite of being such a bizarre creature, he is the leader of Shinobu's ninja clan. Onsokumaru is perverted, lecherous, messy, loud, a cheat, and greedy. He imagines softcore-pornographic fantasies about Shinobu and Kaede, either for his own personal pleasure or to enthrall or persuade the male ninja into helping him. On the other hand, he is often friendly, and has a silly, playful side.

Miyabi (雅^?)

Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (Japanese), Veronica Taylor (English)

Miyabi is Shinobu's younger sister who has chosen the field of "magical summoning" rather than ninjutsu. She dislikes Onsokumaru (a mutual feeling) and believes that her elder sister should switch fields and become a magical summoner like herself. Though just ten-years-old, she is something of a prodigy and is skilled enough to consistently defeat Onsokumaru when he gets on her nerves.

Sasuke (サスケ^?)

Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese), David Wills (episodes 1-3), Jason Linder (episodes 4-12)

Sasuke is the class president of the Ninja Academy. Sasuke is sometimes easy to spot, but he is one of the dozens of faceless male ninja in the series. These male ninja are seen in different outfits, but never without their masks. Onsokumaru and Shinobu seem able to tell them apart. They share many of Onsokumaru's traits, although they are more kindhearted and conscientious, attempting to act noble and wise. They often join in on Onsokumaru's perverted schemes, but have shown a distaste for certain levels he will go to. The ninja have even more than once joined together to punish Onsokumaru when he goes too far. They have a tendency to act with a hive mind, but are easily distracted and get little done. Sasuke and some of the other male ninja form the "Miyabi Fan Club".

Media

Manga

The manga is written and illustrated by Ryoichi Koga. It was serialized in MediaWorks' shōnen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh between the August 2000 and March 2006 issues. The chapters were collected into four tankōbon volumes under the Dengeki Comics EX imprint between February 2002 and May 2006.^[1][2] The manga is released in English in North America under the title Ninin Ga Shinobuden by Infinity Studios, who released the volumes between May 2006 and April 2008.

Anime

A 12-episode anime TV series adaptation, produced by Ufotable and directed by Hitoyuki Matsui, aired between July 8 and September 23, 2004 on Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting in Japan. The anime's opening theme is "Shinobu Sanjō!" (シノブ参上!^?) by Kiyomi Kumano and the ending theme is "Kurukururin" (くるくるりん^?) by Kaoru. An insert song used in episode five is titled "Shinobu Ondo" (シノブ音頭^?) by Nana Mizuki. The anime was released by The Right Stuf International in North America originally across four DVD volumes from July 25 to November 28, 2006. A DVD box set was released on December 7, 2007 and was re-released with bonus materials on June 8, 2010.

Episode list

#	Title	Original air date
01	"Shinobu, the Ninja Apprentice, Appears" "Minarai Ninja, Shinobu Kenzan no Kan" (見習い忍者、忍見参の巻)	July 8, 2004
	"The Master Appears" "Tōryō, Arawaru no Kan" (頭領、現るの巻)
02	"Ninja, Enjoying a Cherry Blossom Party" "Ninja, Hanami de Ukareru no Kan" (忍者、花見で浮かれるの巻)	July 15, 2004
	"Shinobu, Date with Kaede" "Shinobu, Kaede to Dēto Suru no Kan" (忍、楓とデートするの巻)
03	"Onsokumaru, Getting Angry" "Onsokumaru, Okoru no Kan" (音速丸、怒るの巻)	July 22, 2004
	"Shinobu, Running Away" "Shinobu, Ie o Deru no Kan" (忍、家を出るの巻)
04	"Ninja, Getting Hot" "Ninja, Atsugaru no Kan" (忍者、暑がるの巻)	July 29, 2004
	"Miyabi, Falling in Love" "Miyabi, Koi o Suru no Kan" (雅、恋をするの巻)
05	"Onsokumaru, Goes to Hell" "Onsokumaru, Jigoku ni Ochiru no Kan" (音速丸、地獄に落ちるの巻)	August 5, 2004
	"Ninja, Enjoying the Summer Festival" "Ninja, Natsumatsuri o Okonau no Kan" (忍者、夏祭りを行うの巻)
06	"A Typhoon is Here" "Taifū ga Kita no Kan" (台風が来たの巻)	August 12, 2004
	"Ninja, Going Mushroom Hunting" "Ninja, Kinoko-garu no Kan" (忍者、きのこ狩るの巻)
07	"Onsokumaru, Gets Stuck" "Onsokumaru, Kuttsuku no Kan" (音速丸、くっつくの巻)	August 19, 2004
	"Shinobu, Play Ball" "Shinobu, Purei Bōru no Kan" (忍、プレイボーるの巻)
08	"Shinobu in Disguise" "Shinobu, Bakeru no Kan" (忍、化けるの巻)	August 26, 2004
	"A Monster Plant Going Wild" "Kaishokubutsu, Abareru no Kan" (怪植物、暴れるの巻)
09	"Girls, Getting Warm" "Onna no Ko, Attamaru no Kan" (女の子、あったまるの巻)	September 2, 2004
	"Kaede Catches a Cold" "Kaede, Kaze o Hiku no Kan" (楓、風邪を引くの巻)
10	"Ninja Christmas" "Ninja, Kurisumasu-ru no Kan" (忍者、クリスマスるの巻)	September 9, 2004
	"Ninja, Cursed" "Ninja, Norowareru no Kan" (忍者、呪われるの巻)
11	"Sasukeden Begins" "Sasukeden, Hajimaru no Kan" (サスケ伝、始まるの巻)	September 16, 2004
	"Ninja, Showing Gratitude" "Ninja, Ongaeshi Suru no Kan" (忍者、恩返しするの巻)
12	"Onsokumaru's Secret" "Onsokumaru no Himitsu no Kan" (音速丸の秘密の巻)	September 23, 2004
	"Farewell, 2x2=Shinobuden" "Saraba Ninin ga Shinobuden no Kan" (さらばニニンがシノブ伝の巻)

References

1. ^ "ニニンがシノブ伝(1) [Ninin Ga Shinobuden (1)]" (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. http://asciimw.jp/search/mode/item/cd/A0210310. Retrieved September 2, 2010. 
2. ^ "ニニンがシノブ伝(4) [Ninin Ga Shinobuden (4)]" (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. http://asciimw.jp/search/mode/item/cd/A0600580. Retrieved September 2, 2010. 

External links

• Ninja Nonsense at Ufotable (Japanese)
• Ninja Nonsense at Nozomi Entertainment
• Ninja Nonsense (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia